Routine traffic stop ends in $905 in fines

Last Tuesday, D.C. driver Anna Russell was pulled over for a routine traffic stop and ended up receiving six tickets.

Two of Anna Russell's tickets from a total of six. These are for obstructing a crosswalk and unnecessarily using her horn. (Courtesy Anna Russell)

WASHINGTON – Last Tuesday, D.C. driver Anna Russell was pulled over for a routine traffic stop and ended up receiving six tickets.

In total, she owes $905.

After hearing about the WTOP TicketBuster series, Russell spoke about her ordeal exclusively with WTOP.

“I was on 8th Street in the Barracks Row intersection. It’s kind of a funny intersection where D Street, Pennsylvania Avenue and 8th Street all intersect. I was looking ahead at the green light in front of me and all of a sudden a pedestrian stepped out in front of my car. Startled, I slammed on my brakes and honked my horn to get her attention and make sure I didn’t hit her,” says Russell.

However, what Russell thought would be routine traffic stop was anything but.

“Even from the get-go, her demeanor was very accusatory and that I was doing something intentionally wrong,” says Russell.

“Then I was sitting there for almost 20 minutes, before the officer returned. At the time, I thought I would be scolded or get a small ticket for not yielding to the pedestrian. But when she came back she had a stack full of tickets in her hand.”

In total, she received six tickets adding up to $905 in fines. The tickets confirm Russell’s account on time, showing that the first ticket was printed at 10:56 p.m. and the last one at 11:12 p.m.

Officer Sesay issued two tickets for failure to yield to a pedestrian ($250) and obstructing a crosswalk ($50) — but the tickets didn’t stop there.

One citation was a seat belt violation. The passenger had her strap under her arm, rather than over her shoulder. Another ticket was for unnecessary noise from a horn ($25).

“She says I was constantly blowing. In actuality, I laid my hand on the horn to get the attention of the pedestrian so she’d be aware of what was going on,” says Russell.

She demonstrated how it sounded, saying it didn’t last for more than a second or two and did not constitute constant blowing. She also objects to the seat belt violation.

“The officer explained that as a driver, I need to be aware of the safety of my passengers in that same tone of ‘you should know better and how dare you.’ But she had the belt clipped in, and it was strapped around her torso, so I think she was just wanting to write as many tickets as possible. I’m not sure whether she was doing it for financial reasons or she just had a bad day,” she says.

One Maryland police chief, who spoke to WTOP on condition of anonymity, says he finds the seat belt ticket bizarre.

“The new law in Maryland that went into effect in October requires all passengers to have a seat belt on. But I’ve never heard of anyone in my jurisdiction or any other that’s received a ticket for that situation,” he said.

Russell is also upset about the interaction with Officer Sesay regarding her insurance. She received two tickets totaling $530 for what she describes as a simple mistake: Grabbing the wrong insurance card.

“When a police officer comes up to your car and ask for your pieces, you’re kind of flustered, you’re reaching into the glove compartment and grabbing the first thing you see. So I handed those three pieces. She asked if those were the three and I said ‘yes’ and she never warned me they were out of date,” says Russell.

“But I do have a valid insurance card in my purse. I just handed her the wrong card accidentally.”

Russell further asserts that Officer Sesay never gave her a second chance to produce a valid insurance card, which she did have on her.

“I can’t comment on the specifics of this situation. If an individual is concerned about an interaction with a member of MPD, we encourage them to file a complaint with MPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) or the Office of Police Complaints,” she writes in a statement.

“The law specifically requires: (1) police to ask for proof of insurance; and (2) if the driver cannot provide proof of insurance, for police to cite the driver for both failing to SHOW and failing to HAVE insurance. The latter citation is the $500 fine, but it can be waived upon appeal to DMV if the driver can prove that the vehicle was indeed insured at the time of the stop,” writes Crump, referring to DC Code